Chapter 2

2

Hands grabbed me, held me back. One of the parents snatched the kettle away. "Let me go! I'll kill you all!"

Brittany hid behind her dad, giggling.

The cop patted my back. "Son, calm down. We're trying to figure out how to handle this. Don't make it worse."

I wrenched free of the parent's grip. "Okay, so how are you going to handle it?"

The air thickened. They exchanged glances, clearly not expecting me to call them out.

The principal pulled me aside, put an arm around my shoulder. "You're Lily's…?"

"Brother."

"Right. Well, the school takes this very seriously. We've spoken to Brittany and the others, they've assured us this won't happen again. Seeing as it's a first offense, we were hoping…"

"Hoping what? That we just forget about it?" I shrugged him off.

"Now son, you need to consider the bigger picture. We've managed to suppress the video. That kind of thing getting out… it wouldn't be good for Lily. She's a young girl…"

"So what? We should be thanking you for your mercy? You suppressed it for Lily, or for those little punks?"

"You need to be reasonable."

"I can't be reasonable! My sister was brutalized!"

Brittany's dad snorted. "Maybe you should ask yourself why your sister was targeted. Maybe she did something to provoke them. It takes two to tango, you know?"

I punched him in the face. He staggered back, clutching his nose. "You son of a…"

"I'll kill you!" My vision went red. I lunged again, but the cop grabbed me. "Calm down, son. You hurt him, you'll have to pay his medical bills."

Mom grabbed my other arm, her face streaked with tears. I softened.

"Officer," I said, "we want to press charges. How long will they get?"

He sighed. "I understand how you feel, but realistically? A few days in juvie, maybe a small fine. They're minors."

A few days? A fine? My head spun. I saw the faintest hint of a smirk on Brittany's face.

The parents, hearing about the possibility of juvie and a record, started hissing at their kids. The three bullies shuffled over, bowing and apologizing.

Brittany took my hand. "I'm so sorry. We know what we did was wrong. It'll never happen again."

Something hard pressed against my palm. I looked down. She'd slipped a hair clip into my hand. It was covered in blood. It was Lily's. Strands of her hair clung to it. Ripped out.

"You bitch!" I swung, but her dad yanked her back.

"I'm so sorry!" she wailed, fake tears streaming down her face. "Hit me! Do whatever you want, just let us go!"

She was crying, but her other hand, hidden behind her back, flipped me off.

"I'll kill you!"

"Calm down!" The cop stepped between us again. He turned to the parents. "He's understandably upset. We'll deal with this later. You need to leave."

The house was silent. 10 PM. Lily still wouldn't come out of her room. We waited outside her door, no one wanting to leave.

"Mom, Dad, go to bed. I'll stay here."

"How can I sleep when she's like this?" Dad said. Mom put a hand on his back, leaning against him. Her eyes were swollen shut from crying.

"Those animals might come back tomorrow," I said. "You need to rest."

"Jake's right," Mom said. "Lily will be okay with him here."

Dad sighed heavily and slowly shuffled away. Years of back-breaking construction work had left him crippled. His spine ached constantly, especially in damp weather. Now, old age had set in, and even the strongest painkillers barely helped.

Looking at his stooped figure, my throat tightened.

After my parents' lights went out, I knocked on Lily's door �C two long knocks, two short. Our secret code. It used to be our signal for late-night snacks, sneaking out, all the fun stuff we did when Mom and Dad were asleep.

This time, there was no excited giggle.

"Lily?" I whispered. "Can I come in?"

I had a key.

Silence.

Something felt wrong. I unlocked the door.

The smell of blood hit me like a wall. The sheets were soaked crimson. Lily lay on her back, half her body submerged in a pool of blood. Deep gashes sliced across her wrists.

"Lily!"

I scooped her up and ran.

"Mom! Dad! Lily's tried to kill herself!"